Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (CITA) was established as an independent Federal agency by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) amendments of 1971. The function of the Committee was to provide employment opportunities for people who were blind or severely disabled. In 2006 JWOD was re-named AbilityOne. The AbilityOne Program uses the purchasing power of the federal government to buy products and services from participating, community-based nonprofit agencies nationwide dedicated to training and employing individuals with disabilities. Currently, AbilityOne employs more than 40,000 Americans who are blind or have other severe disabilities, making it the single largest source of jobs for such individuals in the United States.